I thought the Rishi inclusion on my shicha list might raise a few eyebrows.

I never know what Rishi will do. Often shincha arrives via the slow boat or they bypass it completely ... but they have remained strongly committed to bringing in good and fresh Japanese greens and have the harvest info listed ...

I reward these steps taken by including their teas each year, even if it is ichiban versus shin.

This year, they appear to be airshipping as they already have a 2012 shincha YM from Kagoshima. I will be talking to my contact there asap!

@Alex, Magokoro is a great tea did you have the sencha version of it? I didn't go with any for shincha season this year because I am not a huge fuka fan and I wanted to try some other fukas that I hadn't had before or in a long while.

Yeah I did. I liked it. I loved the Kagoshima Sencha Asatsuyu but that's not available yet.

I really need to get some good Asu though. Havent had any for the last 500 grams of tea drinking.

... such as pouring into cups. In the video: cups 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4, etc. versus cups 1,2,3,4 - 4,3,2,1 - 1,2,3,4, etc. Reversing direction will give a more even distribution of flavor, particles, etc. (using a pitcher is a good alternative)

Though I am sure I do things that would make most experienced Japanese tea brewers laugh.

- Maiko (Kinari)- Ippodo (shincha, and probably a gyo and houji)- Thes du Japon (maybe, I may have too much shincha and will have to wait until later)- O-cha (YM) - I had YM shincha last year, but I've been hearing that it was different from the "classic" in previous years, so want to try it again.

And, I just couldn't get shincha, but not also get a few that have become "classic" for me:

Buzz Fledderjohn wrote:Marakyu Koyamaen sells shin matcha, it might also be known a their gold and silver matcha. I picked some up last May in Kyoto. You can order directly from them, just check their website http://www.marukyu-koyamaen.co.jp/english/index.html.

Thanks for the link.

The site looks intesting, as do some of their teas. I have sent an inquiry asking for further info.